Strings & Stringing

STRINGS ARE THE HEART OF YOUR RACKET – always remember this statement. If you do NOT replace your string when it is needed OR get your Racket strung properly it will NOT perform how you need it to!

Strings are 40% of YOUR game, they are what you hit the Ball / Shuttlecock with. You need to feel confident when playing your shot that the Ball / Shuttlecock should do what you want it to do off your Racket. The wrong String and the wrong Tension in your Racket will make it not perform how it should FOR YOU! Players can take a few weeks to decide on their choice of Racket BUT minutes on the string they want to use! When you look at the 40% factor, this does NOT make sense. We can offer expert advice here at Withers helping you make the correct choice, pop in and talk to us for help.

Old Wives tale – The amount of times you play a week is how many Restrings you have a year (even if you are not breaking Strings). Where you should bare this in mind, not everyone can and will justify this BUT you should have at least One a Year! For Tennis playing in the Winter when the Balls can be heavier due to excess wet that adds weight to the cloth on the Balls and the Rubber Core on a Ball can be harder due to Cooler Temperatures, both of these can put extra strain on the strings. Badminton and Squash are Indoor Sports so the weather will obviously NOT come into it BUT some Squash Rackets have quite Open String Beds and Badminton Players always seem to want High String Tensions, both of these points can contribute to early string breakages.

TENNIS

There are various types of String that offer differing playing characteristics, we hope you find the following information useful:

Players wanting Playability from their String

This is a grey area when choosing strings as some Players prefer a Harder String for playability and others prefer a soft String. It really is personal preference BUT certain Rackets ARE aimed at certain types of String! We would always advise a softer string for playability though as in our opinion Playability is aimed at the softer more comfortable feel. Natural Gut offer a very Soft Feel and is arguably the String that has the Softest Feel of all. There are Synthetic Equivalents to Gut (Babolat Excel, Wilson Sensation, Prince Premier, Yonex Multi Sensa) that might offer a little more Durability BUT these types of Strings (inc Gut) are classed as Multifilaments. These are made up of many individual strands, wrapped together to make one string. This construction of a string does give them a soft feel but also means that they stretch (lose tension) maybe a little sooner that other types of strings. Some Multifilament Strings do come Pre Stretched this means that tension loss is a liitle less. Players who suffer from Tennis Elbow should consider a Multifilament String as they offer the most arm comfort!

Players wanting Durability from their String

Most of us want a string that offers a little bit of everything! A string that offers Durability normally means a slightly harder string. This would result in a string that offers less comfort (playability). A player who has a Powerful game and hits the Ball hard would usually look at a Harder more Durable String. A softer (multifilament) string would feel fantastic but would just not wear well BUT a harder (monofilament) string then the string WILL definately last longer ( Luxilon Big Banger , Babolat Pro Hurricane , Babolat RPM , Luxilon Savage ) . The down side of Monofilament string is comfort BUT this type of string is aimed at the more technical player who would normally use a smaller headed Racket ( 95 , 96 , 98 and even 10sq” ) when they are looking at toning down the Power from the Racket and relying more on their technique and timing . BUT you can MIX both String Types up to create a string that also fits in here , many Pro Players use this concept ( Hybrid String bed ) , this is where you combine a Hard String in the Down Strings with a Softer String in the Cross Strings giving you a mix of Playability and Durability . The Hard String is normally put in as the Down String ( 60% of wear takes place on the down string ) and the softer string is normally fitted as the cross string . You can reverse this if you want to BUT you will find that the strings wear quicker this way !

As mentioned above it IS a Grey area when classifying strings for Playability and Durability BUT in our Opinion we put the following strings ( our Best Sellers ) into the below listed catagories :

Playability / Softer Multifilament

Kind on the Arm, good for Tennis Elbow Sufferers and Players looking for a really comfortable/soft feel on their shots. Strings come in various Gauges (thickness of string) we would normally suggest a 1.30 gauge on ALL Multifilaments as this gives more Durability.

Babolat Excel

Babolat Addiction

Wilson Sensation

Prince Premier

Yonex Multi Sensa

Durability / Monofilament

Aimed at the Player who has a Powerful Game, usually using a Mid Head Size Racket (95,96,97,98 and up to a 100sq” Size) who’s timing and technique generates their power, the string tones it down a little offering them a little bit of control. AND also aimed at the Player who breaks strings frequently!

Luxilon Big Banger

Luxilon Savage

Babolat Pro Hurricane

Babolat RPM Blast

Yonex Poly Tour Pro

Hybrid Combinations

Offers a Mix of the two types. Harder string in the Down Strings is the usual combination BUT some players do put the Soft String as the down string. The Harder string in the down strings will offer more Durability as 60% of the wear takes place on the down strings! (Our recommendations are based on the Harder String going on the Down String)

Luxilon Big Banger / Babolat Excel

Yonex Poly Tour Pro / Yonex Multi Sensa

Luxilon Savage / Prince Lightning

Babolat RPM Blast / Babolat Excel

Babolat Pro Hurricane / Babolat Excel

Squash

This Sport is dominated by Tecnifibre Strings , ALL the Tecnifibre Strings that we offer are ALL great selling strings and ALL offer a soft comfortable feel . Where string tension on Squash Rackets does NOT differ too much the need to offer a Range of both Monofilament and Multifilament strings is NOT necessary . Tecnifibre offer 3 Fantastic versions of a Multifilament String that ALL play superb !! The 305 and 305+ plus are in a 1.30 gauge BUT the X1 BiPhase is in a thinner (1.18 ) gauge which offers a Superb Soft Feel BUT be aware , with this thinner gauge it will not wear like the 305 and 305+

305

305+

X1 BiPhase

Badminton

This Sport is dominated by Yonex String , in fact ALL we offer is Yonex . We virtually stock their entire range . There are subtle differences between them ALL , coating on the strings , small differences in the thickness and the texture of them . These small differences DO alter the way they perform . See below a selection of our Best Sellers

BG65TI

BG66 Ultimax

BG80 Power

BG80

Nanogy 99

Nanogy 95

String Gauges

Refers to thicknes of the String. A thinner String will offer more Playability but less Durability the Thicker Gauges offer the opposite. A Thinner string usually offers more ‘ Bite ‘ on the Ball too.

String Tension

The tighter the Tension the Less Power but more Control… the looser the Tension the more Power and Less Control – These statements are for Tennis Rackets! This is because in Tennis the Ball is a heavier object than a Shuttlecock and Squash Ball, this means it puts more pressure on to the strings. Think of it like you are jumping on a Trampoline, a Tennis Racket reacts the same way, if you are jumping up and down on a tightly sprung trampoline you will not lift off that much AND if you move off the centre of the Trampoline you will not venture too far off your direction! BUT if you are on a lose Sprung Trampoline will jump higher and if you move away from the centre you probably land OFF the trampoline! The same can be said on a Tennis Restring! When strung Tight, the Ball hits the strings, it flattens slightly, this loses energy in the Ball resulting in LESS Power. If it is Strung Lose, the Ball sits in to the String bed longer and rebounds off it without the Ball being Flattened, resulting in Power but you need to work harder at controlling the Ball. Each Racket offers guidance with a Tension Range, it is important to pay attention to this and to stay within this range. If you go above it then be aware that any Breakages may well be deemed as your responsibility . The Higher the Tension the MORE strain you place on the Racket , also be aware that every Restring DOES weaken the Racket , very minimal BUT it is worth knowing this !!

For Badminton, as the Shuutlecock is very lightweight it will NOT sit on the strings for long so it is the Opposite to tennis: the Tighter you String the MORE Power you will get BUT be aware of the comments about the additional strain on your Racket AND also note that you will decrease the size of the SweetSpot (place on your Racket Head that provides the nicest feel and most Power) making you needing to be more precise!

For Squash, as stated above there is very little Tension movement (most players go for 26lbs – 31lbs) so the above information is obviously relevant BUT not as essential to consider.

Choosing The Right String Tension – This will depend on a few factors, Your Racket, Your Game Style and if you are suffering from any injuries. It is best to call us or Pop in to the Shop as this is all very personal and rather than writing paragraph after paragraph it is best to discuss this face to face so we can advise what is best for YOU .

IT IS BEST TO TALK TO US ABOUT YOUR RESTRING AS IT IS PERSONAL AND EVERYONE HAS A UNIQUE GAME AND STYLE. YOUR RESTRING OFFERS 40% OF THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR RACKET, WITH THIS IN MIND MAKE SURE YOU CHOOSE THE STRING AND TENSION THAT SUITS YOU!! WE WILL HELP YOU MAKE THE CORRECT CHOICE. GIVE US A CALL ( 0116 262 2113) OR POP IN TO OUR SHOP.

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